Cloak of Invisibility
*Generations of Potters *Henry Potter *Fleamont Potter *James Potter *Albus Dumbledore (never used) *Harry Potter *James S. Potter *Albus Potter }} The Cloak of Invisibility is a magical artefact used to render the wearer invisible, and one of the fabled Deathly Hallows. In "The Tale of the Three Brothers", it was the third and final Hallow created, supposedly by Death himself (whom had the cloak in his possession at that time), and bestowed upon Ignotus Peverell after he requested, as his bounty, for something with the power to hide him if he were to go place to place without being followed by Death. According to legend, whoever united it with the other two Hallows (the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone) would become the Master of Death. This invisibility cloak was the only known one that would not fade with age and would provide everlasting protection to the wearer, something no normal invisibility cloak could provide. As such, it was the only Hallow known to have been successfully passed down from generation to generation since Ignotus' time. In 1991, it passed to the possession of Harry Potter who used it to great success in the Second Wizarding War and resolved to pass it down to his own children. History Mystic origins According to , a wizarding fairytale, three brothers were out travelling the world together. They came upon a river that was too deep to wade through and too dangerous to swim across. So, the brothers used magic to conjure up a bridge. They were at the middle when Death appeared and spoke to them. Angered that they had outwitted him, Death offered each brother a "prize" for outsmarting Death. ]] The eldest brother asked for an unbeatable wand, and Death created a wand of Elder and gave it to him. The second brother requested the ability to return those who have died, and Death gave him the Resurrection Stone. The youngest brother did not trust Death and requested the ability to leave without being followed by Death. Unwillingly and reluctantly, Death handed over his own Invisibility Cloak, and they parted ways. Death soon claimed the lives of two elder brothers, but he could not claim the life of the youngest. He evaded Death using the Cloak until he grew into an old man. He finally gave the Cloak to his son, and greeted Death as an old friend. Many familiar with the Deathly Hallows believed the Peverell family to be the brothers in the tale. Antioch Peverell, the eldest, taking the Elder Wand; Cadmus taking the Resurrection Stone; and Ignotus, the youngest, claiming the Cloak from Death. It is more likely, however, that they were simply three immensely powerful wizards who created the items themselves. This is the view of Albus Dumbledore, who believed that the Cloak was created by Ignotus himself, and used throughout his lifetime. Recent history The Cloak of Invisibility was passed down to Ignotus' son. Ignotus' son had no male heirs so his oldest daughter, Iolanthe, inherited it instead. The Peverell family died in the male line around this time, but the heirloom was passed down the generations through the female line, the Potters, as Iolanthe had married Hardwin Potter from Stinchcombe. In the 20th century, the Cloak eventually ended up in the hands of Henry Potter, a Wizengamot member, who passed it to his eldest son Fleamont. Fleamont was the father of James Potter, Harry Potter's father. James used the Cloak of Invisibility in many of his misdeeds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and kept it afterwards. Around the time that Lord Voldemort was hunting the Potters for their son, the Cloak of Invisibility came to the attention of Albus Dumbledore when James showed him the Cloak. Dumbledore, who had searched for the Deathly Hallows in youth, asked to borrow the Cloak from James to study it. After James was killed, the Cloak was left in Dumbledore's possession. receives the Cloak of Invisibility on Christmas Day 1991]] Ten years later, Dumbledore gave Harry Potter the Cloak of Invisibility as a Christmas present anonymously and told him to "use it well." This would be one piece of advice that Harry would use quite well over his school life and beyond, as the Cloak of Invisibility aided Harry on countless trips and missions, including his hunt for Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. It was not until 1998, that Harry learned the true nature of his own Invisibility Cloak and its true identity as the Cloak of Invisibility, as spoken of in the legend of the Deathly Hallows. As Ignotus' last remaining descendant, the Cloak was rightfully Harry's and was kept by him after Lord Voldemort's defeat. Harry resolved to pass it on to his children one day, just as his ancestors had done. Before the start of his eldest son's sixth year at Hogwarts, Harry gave James Sirius the Cloak as a present. After accidentally turning his hair pink with a joke comb that his Uncle Ron had given him, James complained that he'd have to use the Cloak to hide his hair. The Cloak was stolen from James' trunk by his younger brother Albus during the same year, who used it to hide from Professor McGonagall in the library. Abilities The Cloak of Invisibility is especially powerful. It is resistant to jinxes, hexes, and other spells which would normally damage or otherwise render a normal Invisibility cloak ineffective. For example, just before the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione were huddled under it, a Death Eater's Summoning Charm had no effect on removing the Cloak of Invisibility. It has also remained completely effective throughout its long existence of around seven centuries, unlike the other cloaks which lose their power over time. Even the Thief's Downfall did not affect it. Although powerful, the Cloak of Invisibility is not infallible. While the Cloak itself resists spell damage, it does not shield the wearer from spells used against them personally. For example, Harry was immobilised while under the Cloak twice during the 1996–1997 school year. In addition, it will not hide the wearer from detection that is not based on optical sight, such as Alastor Moody's magical eye, magical creatures such as Dementors, spells such as the Human-presence-revealing spell (at least when cast by an extremely powerful wizard or witch, as only Albus Dumbledore had been seen to detect the presence of someone concealed by the Cloak of Invisibility), the Marauder's Map, or (arguably) certain Dark Detectors (e.g. Sneakoscopes would presumably still detect an untrustworthy action performed under the Cloak, and it's possible —'' but uncertain ''— that the Cloak would be detected by Probity Probes). Symbolism As the last of the Hallows, the Cloak is shown as the wide triangle that encompasses the circle and the line intersecting at their very middle; and being the only one to be properly treated as an heirloom, the Cloak of Invisibility seems to represent survival at most. It may also represent a certain goodness of spirit, as the artefact is the only one of the Hallows whose power can be shared by two or more people at once. Known uses Behind the scenes *Although superior to any other cloak in terms of durability and longevity, the Cloak was unable to hide Harry from certain methods of magical detection, such as Alastor Moody's Magic Eye, the Marauder's Map and the Human-presence-revealing spell. It was also unable to hide Harry from creatures able to sense location by methods other than primarily sight, such as Dementors and Nagini. *In a chat with fans on the-leaky-cauldron.org, J. K. Rowling answered a fan's question why Albus Dumbledore was sometimes able to see Harry under the Cloak of Invisibility that he used the revelio charm with non-verbal magic.J.K. Rowling Web Chat Transcript on the-leaky-cauldron.org *The Cloak also had the limitation of only being able to hide what it was large enough to cover - it did not grow with the user(s), and if any part of them accidentally slipped past the boundaries of the Cloak, that part risked exposing their presence to anyone nearby. Thus, as the trio grew taller, they often had to stoop more to be completely covered by the Cloak. *While it shields the wearer from sight and cannot be harmed by any class of spell aimed at it, the Cloak does not act as a shield against spells, curses, or hexes, aimed at the user, as Harry is affected by the Full Body-Bind Curse curse twice while under The Cloak in 1996-1997. *The Cloak's appearance in the movie differs from the one described in the book. In the book, it is described as a fluid-like silky, silvery material. *When asked which of the Deathly Hallows they preferred, Hermione Granger chose the Cloak of Invisibility, while Ron chose the Elder Wand, and Harry chose the Resurrection Stone. *It could be possible that Harry used the Cloak in his Auror years, until he decided to pass it on to James. *In many eyes that follow the tales of the Hallows, they considered the Cloak of Invisibility to be the less important and less talked about. It is considered to be the weakest out of the Hallows, but later on it is seen that is could possibly be the most important and strongest out of the three Hallows. *In the PlayStation2/Xbox/GameCube adaptation of , Dumbledore confiscates the Cloak from Harry after Harry finds the Mirror of Erised. This is more than a little out of character for Dumbledore seeing as how he's the one who gave Harry the Cloak in the first place. This also creates a plot hole as the Cloak aids Harry on many of his future adventures. *The cloak itself, much like other magical items in the Harry Potter universe, may have been based on the Mantle of Arthur from Arthurian legends. The mantle, or Ilen, was able to hide anyone underneath it by rendering them invisible, though able to see out of it. See also *Peverell family *Invisibility cloak Appearances * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 '' TV spot #5 * * * * * * * * * * * * * Notes and references pl:Peleryna-niewidka fr:Cape d'Invisibilité pt-br:Capa da Invisibilidade (Relíquia) Category:Albus Dumbledore's possessions Category:Christmas presents Category:Cloaks Category:Deathly Hallows Category:Harry Potter's possessions Category:Ignotus Peverell's possessions Category:Invisibility Category:James Potter I's possessions Category:Magical objects